Dialkylaminoalkylimidazoles as catalysts for preparation of polyurethanes

ABSTRACT

Dialkylaminoalkylimidazoles having the formula   where R and R&#39;&#39; are independently selected from H and CH3, n is an integer from 1 to 2, and R&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; and R&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; are independently selected from CH3 and C2H5 have been found to be useful in methods for preparing polyurethane compositions and for preparing thermoset resins.

United States Patent [1 1 Bechara et a1.

[ DIALKYLANIINOALKYLIMIDAZOLES AS CATALYSTS FOR PREPARATION OF POLYURETHANES [75] Inventors: Ibrahim Selim Bechara, Boothwyn;

Dewey G. Holland, Chadds Ford, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.,

Allentown, Pa.

[22] Filed: May 8, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 468,190

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 347,039, April 2, 1973,

abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 260/75 NC; 260/2 EP; 260/25 AC;

[51] Int. Cl. C08G 18/20 [58] Field of Search... 260/775 AC, 75 NC, 2.5 AC

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,177,223 4/1965 Erner 260/77.5 AC

3,620,987 1 H1971 McLaughlin 260/775 AC 3,786,005 l/l974 Bechara et a1. 260/775 AC 3,833,525 9/1974 Orlando et al. 260/25 AC FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 669,989 12/1938 Germany 260/309 1,486,817 6/1967 France 260/309 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Chem. Abs., 1939, Vol. 33, C01. 5413 at 7, Temmler Werke.

Primary Examiner1-l. S. Cockeram Attorney, Agent, or FirmRichard A. Dannells, Jr.; Barry Moyerman [57] ABSTRACT Dialkylaminoalkylimidazoles having the formula n is an integer from 1 to 2, and

R" and R' are independently selected from CH and C 11 have been found to be useful in methods for preparing polyurethane compositions and for preparing thermoset resins.

4 Claims, N0 Drawings DIALKYLAMINOALKYLIMIDAZOLES AS CATALYSTS FOR PREPARATION OF POLYURETHANES This is a division, of application Ser. No. 347,039 filed Apr. 2, 1973 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is directed to a novel class of compounds and to a method for their preparation. More particularly, the invention relates to dialkylaminoalkylimidazoles.

2. Prior Art Imidazole and substituted imidazoles are well known in the art: see Erner, US. Pat. No. 3,177,223. References to aminoalkylimidazoles have been found, although to a lesser extent than the imidazoles; see Schipper et al.: Imidazoles and Condensed imidazoles in: Elderfield, Heterocyclic Compounds, Volume 5, page 224, New York, Wiley, 1957. Most of the known aminoalkylimidazoles are of the histamine and histidine type where the aminoalkyl group is attached to a carbon atom of the heterocyclic ring. References to aminoalkylimidazoles where the aminoalkyl group is attached to the nitrogen of the heterocyclic ring are scarce; see Hoffman, US. Pat. No. 2,935,514. In the latter reference the aminoalkyl group is attached to the ring of a benzimidazole and not of the imidazole or alkyl imidazole structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In contrast to the prior art, the aminoalkyl group containing a tertiary nitrogen is attached to the nitrogen of either an imidazole ring or a lower alkyl substituted imidazole ring.

In accordance with the present invention, a dialkylaminoalkylimidazole is provided having the following formula:

N R will (IHZLI R!) R!!! where R and R are independently selected from H and CH n is an integer from 1 to 2, and

R" and R are independently selected from CH and (:gHs

Dialkylaminoalkylimidazoleshave been synthesized from the imidazole precursor in accordance with the present invention by two different routes depending on the aminoalkyl group. Where the aminoalkyl group is a three carbon chain, the synthesis has been accomplished by cyanoethylating the imidazole or lower alkyl substituted imidazole, followed by hydrogenation and methylation. When the aminoalkyl group has only two carbons in the chain, the synthesis has been accomplished by a gas phase catalytic condensation of the imidazole with the appropriate dialkylaminoalkanol.

The dialkylaminoalkylimidazoles of the present invention have been found to be superior catalysts in the preparation of polyurethane compositions and epoxides. The activity of the catalyst surprisingly depends on the length of the alkyl chain separating the nitrogen of the heterocyclic ring from the tertiary nitrogen of the aminoalkyl group.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In one embodiment of the present invention, the dialkylaminoalkylimidazole is synthesized in the following manner:

a. reacting in the presence ofa suitable solvent an imidazole having the formula where R is H or CH with acrylonitrile,

b. hydrogenating the reaction product of step (a) in the presence of hydrogen and a suitable catalyst under elevated temperatures and pressures,

c. removing the catalyst and solvent from the reaction product of step (b),

d. distilling the resulting hydrogenated product of step (c),

e. methylating the distillate from step (d), in the presence of formic acid and the appropriate aldehyde, e.g. formaldehyde or acetaldehyde, and

f. recovering the dialkylaminoalky]imidazole.

The imidazole employed in the synthesis of the compounds of this invention can be prepared by any of the well known techniques, for example, by the reaction between alkylene diamine and an alkyl carboxylic acid as described in Erner, US. Pat. No. 2,847,417.

N,N-dimethylaminopropyl-2-methylimidazole can be synthesized, for example, according to the following N )-CH; N t, t "2 1 The cyanoethylating step of, the foregoing reaction takes place in the presence of a primary, secondary, or tertiary alcohol at temperatures in the range of 50 to 100C at to psi. for a period of to 6 hours.

The hydrogenation step occurs at temperatures in the range of 40 to 150C under 500 to 100 psi. of hydrogen in the presence of a suitable catalyst such as Raney nickel catalyst. After the catalyst and solvent are removed from the hydrogenation reaction product, the residue is distilled under the following conditions of temperature and pressure: 100 to 1 10C and 1.6 to 2.1 mmHg.

The methylation of the distillate takes place using a prior art method such as the Leuckhard Method using formic acid and the corresponding aldehyde; see H. T. Clark et al, Journal of American Chemistry Society, Volume 55, pages 4571 4587, 1933.

The methylated product is recovered by a separation step, e.g. vacuum distillation at 110C and 1.6 mmHg.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the dialkylaminoalkylimidazole is synthesized in the following manner:

a. reacting in gas phase an imidazole having the formula:

where R is H or CH; with an alkanolamine having the formula where R is H or CH R" and R' are independently selected from CH and C2H5 in the presence of an acidic catalyst such as kaolin or N,N-dimethyldiethanolamine, l I j dimethyIisopropanolamine, and the like. I

N,N-dimethylaminoethylimidazole can be synthesized according to the following route:

aluminum phosphate at elevated temperatures and The reaction conditions for this reaction are temperatures in the range of to 250C and at substantially atmospheric pressure.

The dialkylaminoalkylimidazoles of this invention may be used as catalysts or activators for polyurethane formation by themselves or incombination with previously known activators particularly metal-organic compounds, such as tin octoate or dibutyltin dilaurate. The imidazoles of this invention may be used to'advantage in combination with otheramine activators such as triethylenediamine or N-ethylmorpholine, particularly in the production of highly resilient polyurethane foams.

The polyurethane formulation where these compounds can be used consist of a compound which contains active hydrogen compounds and polyisocyanates. Compounds that contain active hydrogen atoms are those polyols having at least two active hydrogen atoms which display activity according to Zerewitinoff test as described by Kohler in J. of Am. Chem. Soc., Volume 49, page 3181,1927.

Polyisocyanates which may be used as precursor material according to this invention are those known aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, araliphatic and aromatic polyisocyanates. Examples of these are the 2,4 and 2,6 tolulene diisocyanate and mixtures thereof, bis-(4- isocyanate phenyl)-methane and higher molecular weight products produced by the phosgenation of aniline formaldehyde condensation products and the like.

Also a suitable starting material for the production of polyurethanes in accordance with the process of the present invention are the so-called prepolymers which are the reaction products of polyol, with excess polyisocyanates. Also to be included are the polymerized isocyanates containing isocyanurate rings.

The imidazoles of the invention can valso'be used in catalytic quantities for hardening various epoxy resins, epoxyNovalak resins, ,oxirane resins or epoxy isocyanate resins. They can be used in curing the abovementioned epoxy systems by themselves or in conjunction with conventional curing agents such as anhydrides, polyamides or dithiols.

The invention is further illustrated by reference to plurality of examples.

EXAMPLE 1 In a round bottomed flask were charged 8.6 grams of 2-methylimidazole, 50 cc of tertiary butanol, 5.3 grams of acrylonitrile and 0.5 grams of tetramethylammonium hydroxide. The flask was set in an oil bath and under 1,000 p.s.i..of H and in the presence of3 cc of 5 wet Raney nickel. The materialtook up 150 p.s.i. of H after which the hydrogenation was stopped and the H vented out. The Raney nickel was removed by filtration and the tertiary butanol solvent was removed on a Rotovac connected to house vacuum. The residue was then distilled at 110C and 2 mm of Hg. 7

The distilled material was methylated by the Leuckhard method referenced above using formic acid and formaldehyde. The product was then distilled at l 10C The results summarized in Table I indicate the superior activity of the product of Example 1 when compared to other well-known, highly active tertiary amine. catalysts.

EXAMPLE 3 A polyurethane premix for highly resilient foam was prepared by' mixing 95 grams of CP-4701 polyol, 5 grams Quadrol, 3 grams water and 0.8 1.4 grams of the amine catalyst of Table 11 below. This mixture was stirred with a high speed mechanical stirrer for 10 15 seconds then 63.4 grams of Mondur MR 105 isocyanate was added and the mixture was stirred again for 10 15 seconds then poured into a 5 quart tub. The

and 1.6 mm/Hg. This product was analyzed by infrared l5 cream, gel and rise times for the various formulations (l.R.) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spechave been set forth in Table 11 below.

TABLE 11 Catalyst Concentration in Grams lmidazole 0.8 1.0 1.4 Z-Mcthylimidazole 0.8 1.0 1.4 N,N-Dimethy1aminomethylimidazole 0.8 1.0 1.4 Dabco-WT 0.8 1.0 1.4 N,N-Dimethylaminopropyl-2-methylimidazole (Ex. 1 product) 0.8 1.0 1.4

Results Time in seconds Cream time 39 35 33 41 37 35 40 38' 36 35 33 33 30 26 Gel time i 197 136 172 .194 174 158 189 191 170. 118 110 96- 133 120 93 Rise time 385 354 285 367 320 270 423 390 350 180 168 147 235 207 158 troscopy and was found to have the structure: N,N- The results summarized in Table 11 indicate the great dimethylaminopropyl-2-methylimidazole. improvement in catalyst activity in the preparation of Analysis calculated for C l-l N z C, 64.76 wt. l-l, polyurethanes using the product of the present invenl0.l8 wt. N, 25.15 wt. Found: C, 64.67 wt. tion over other imidazoles and that essentially the same H, 10.18 wt. N, 25.15 wt. Refractive Index (R.I.) activity is obtained to that achieved by Dabco 4 WT. at 20C 1.4920. 40 This improvement is completely unexpected in view of the fact that N,N-dimethylaminomethylimidazole, a i EX 2 v I close homolog to the product of this invention, has s1g- A mixture f 109 grams f s l t f 6406 l l, 'nificantly lower act1v1ty 1n the same formulatlon. 1.5 grams of DC-193 surfactant, 47 grams of Genetron EXAMPLE 4 R-l lSBA blowing agent and 0.8 1.2 grams of the tertiary amine catalysts listed in Table 1 below was stirred A fleXlble Polyurethane Pram1x was Prepared by with a high speed mechanical stirrer for 10 15 secmg grams of CP-3000 poly 1 g 0f D0190 onds. To this mixture was added grams of Hylene Surfactant, g a of Water and 025 grams of 1 TlC diisocyanate and the mixture was stirred again with T-9 solution in CP-3000 and 0.15 grams of the amme a high speed mechanical stirrer for 10 15 seconds 5 catalyst of Table 111 below. The mixture was st1rred then poured into a5 quart tub. The cream time, gel with a high speed mechanical stirrer for 10 15 seetime, rise time and tack free time for each formulation onds and 43.5 grams of toluene dnsocyanate 80/20 have been set forth in Table 1 below. mixture was added. The mixture was stirred again for TABLE I Catalyst Concentration in Grams Dabco R-8020 0.8 1.0 1.2 Tetramethyl-l .3-butanediamine (TMBDA) 0.8 1.0 1.2 N,N-Dimethylaminopropyl-Z- methyl imidazole (Ex. 1 product) 0.8 1.0 1.2

Results Time in seconds Cream time 12 11 10 12 10 9 12 11 11 Gel time 63 49 42 62 48 41 58 48 42 Rise time 121 101 83 107 98 96 88 83 Tack-free time 145 122 91 157 111 122 103 99 1O 15 seconds and poured into a 5 quart tub. Table 111 below summarizes the cream time, hard gel time, and the rise time for various amines used in this formulation.

The results of Table III also indicate the significant improvement in catalyst activity obtainable by employing the product of this invention over other imidazoles.

EXAMPLE 5 A gas phase mixture of 50 wt. imidazole and 50 wt. N,N-dimethylethanolamine was preheated till it was completely in solution. The solution was then passed over a fixed bed of /5 inch pelleted kaolin (Kaopellets having a surface area of 145 sq. m/g. and a bulk density of 0.78 kg/l. at atmospheric pressure, a temperature of 300C and a LHSV of 0.23. The product was isolated from the effluent by fractional distillation over an 80 plate theoretical column. The product was then distilled at 85 87C, 1.0 mm/Hg. The conversion of the reaction mixture was 62% by wt. based on the total amine consumed and the selectivity of the product based on total amine consumed was 53% by wt. This product was analyzed by IR. and NMR spectroscopy and was found to have the structure: 1-(N,N- dimethylaminoethyl) imidazole.

Analysis calculated for C H N C, 60.43 wt. H, 9.35 wt. N, 30.22 wt. Found: C, 60.45 wt. H, 9.55 wt. N, 29.65 wt. R.l. at 20C 1.4946.

EXAMPLE 6 TABLE IV Catalyst l-(N.N-dimethylaminoethyl) imidazole (Ex. 5 a product), g. 0.16 0.20 0.24 0.30 0.4 Results Time in seconds Cream time 23 20 l9 16 14 Rise time 129 122 l 15 107 100 Hard gel time 132 127 I22 115 107 LII EXAMPLE 7 In a small aluminum tray, separate portions of 10 grams of Epon 828 diglycidyl ether and 0.4 0.6 grams of an imidazole catalyst were blended with a hard wooden applicator for exactly one minute. The alumi num dishes were then floated on the surface of Nujol bath held at i 5C. The time of gelation as indicated in Table V below was determined by probing the liquid resin with a hardwood applicator; gelation being that point at which the applicator comes out clean.

After gelation the Shore Hardness was determined in-situ according to ASTM Method D-31458. The values thus obtained are also indicated in Table V below.

Into a 7% inch X 7% inch X 5 inch Teflon mold were hand casted separate blends of 150 grams Epon 828 and 3 grams of either EMl-24 or dimethylaminoethylimidazole. The molds were allowed to gel at room temperature and then they were post-cured at C for two days. The resulting hardened bars were tested for compression strength. The gel time and the compression strength for the two molds are summarized in Table VI below.

TABLE VI Gel Time and Compression Strength of Epon 828 Resin When Cured by Different lmidazoles Compressive Gel time, Strength Modulus lmidazole hours' p.s.i. p.s.i.

EMT-24 48 19.504 33 X 10 l (N.N-dimethylaminoethyl)- imidazole (Ex. 5 P 35 18.678 32 X 10 The foregoing examples clearly shows that the effectiveness of N,N-dimethylaminoethylimidazole in curing epoxy resins is as good or better then the competitive hardener EM1-24.

What is claimed is:

1. In the method of preparing polyurethane compositions from formulations comprising at least one polyol having a minimum of two active hydrogen atoms per molecule, a reactive, organic polyisocyanate, and a catwhere alyst, the improvement in which the catalyst comprises an effective activating amount of the dialkylaminoalk- R i H or CH d n i an integer f om 1 to 2 yhm'dazole of the formula 5 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said polyol is a polyether polyol. N 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said polyol is a I /|L polyester polyol.

R 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said dialkl ylaminoalkylimidazole is employed in an amount of z from about 0.05 to about 1.5 parts by weight per hunl z). dred parts by weight of polyol.

N a \CH: 

1. IN THE METHOD OF PREPARING POLYURETHANE COMPOSITIONS FROM FORMULATIONS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE POLYOL HAVING A MINIMUM OF TWO ACTIVE HYDROGEN ATOMS PER MOLECULE, A REACTIVE, ORGANIC POLYISOCYANATE, AND A CATALYST, THE IMPROVEMENT IN WHICH THE CATALYST COMPRISES AN EFFECTIVE ACTIVATING AMOUNT OF THE DIALKYLAMINOALKYLIMIDAZOLE OF THE FORMULA
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said polyol is a polyether polyol.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said polyol is a polyester polyol.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said dialkylaminoalkylimidazole is employed in an amount of from about 0.05 to about 1.5 parts by weight per hundred parts by weight of polyol. 